The Serbian protest of Kosovo’s historic independence included a razzle dazzle, raze, daze, years of america the beautiful haze riot at the American Embassy in Belgrade. It happened Thursday night, February 22, 2008. These days front page photos like this feel like breaches of national security rather than the norm/democracy scorned/rather than a citizenry informed.

If even broke non-profit nobodys are getting traced by Homeland Security (or Beburity for all you bLoOdz), you tellin me head folks at the NYT ain’t getting daily calls from headquarters? Please. But even still, real news manages to leak out from amidst the fray, and for that, I’m down to give our national paper of record its due props.

New York Times front page, a rare shot of red rage international, Friday, February 22, 2008.

Above: Serbian folks looking to burn down the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, Thursday night.

Below: A Belgarde based working woman on her daily bus, its Friday morning, she looking at the U.S. Embassy the day after/legacy/the democratic way shattered/but yo, didn’t this photojournalist knock it out the box?!

But, for real tho, what’s really happening with the independence of Kosovo? Why is the Bush Administration thrilled? They still got that much beef with Russia? The United States got that much resources to be doing this partition, sanction, invasion shit the world over? Look, I don’t want to hate on any movement that inspires scores of people to rally around a word, in this case, “newborn“…

…But I must think twice when even NYT coverage says point blank: “Kosovo won the recognition of the United States and its biggest Western European allies on Monday, while earning rebukes and rejections from Serbia, Russia and a disparate mix of states the world over who face their own separatist movements at home.”

Below: A recent picture of Serbian folks in “the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica,” like hell nah.

In another, related, story: Dead Prez does a Valentines Day college concert in Olympia, Washington at Evergreen College, a small, liberal arts joint. The concert lets out/beseiged by the cops/a gathering under the dome of music/a threat to the state. Sons and daughters of white property owners leaving a DP concert exhilirated, skirting the edges of a riot unfolding, chanting “police go home,” documented (radioactivegavin.wordpress.com) and commented on (myspace.com/mrdaveyd), respectively, here and here.

What does the independence of Kosovo have in common with po-po provoked riots at a Dead Prez concert? State intervention of questionable nature. The mighty, mighty nation state flexes. A people remain riveted, eyes on still on the bloody prize of war, what mental pictures will veterans have in store, Abu-Ghraib an ever present, shock and awe lore, and now the prospect of a new King to/perceive/true democracy/ain’t easy. Nothing good comes that easy.

Something wicked this way comes. So I’m learning with all my heart, getting stronger in my mental, physical, and spiritual. In case I gotta run in more ways than one. And every chance I get, I am remembering beauty with all my fucking heart.

Little stuff like this helps: someone made a map of the world out of music notes, and this map (below) actually charts out a real song that you can listen to:

Peace from your humble journalist with a twist, political poet, NaXaL.